In providing a heat exchange surface for a cooling tower or the like, a variety of different types of contact body elements have been utilized in forming cooling tower fill sections to bring water into intimate contact with air in a cooling tower. The water to be cooled is typically sprayed onto the contact body elements where it forms a thin film. Air is drawn between the space between the contact body elements and into contact with the water film which is thereby cooled.
One such type of contact body element arrangement includes a film-type fill packing comprising a plurality of corrugated packing sheets disposed in a vertical, parallel relationship such that the corrugations form channels in which water to be cooled is brought into contact with cooling air. The corrugations of adjacent sheets are typically arranged at opposite angles to provide mechanical strength and enhance the distribution of water and air within the fill packing. Examples of such prior art fill packings are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,862,280; 4,139,584; and 4,512,938.
An improved fill packing design is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,670,197, which patent is assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. A gas/liquid contact apparatus is disclosed that includes a plurality of packing sheets arranged in a parallel, face-to-face relationship. The packing sheets have a series of corrugations formed therein that generally extends at an angle in the range of 10 to 45 degrees from a vertical direction. Each of the corrugations is formed so as to define an alternating series of longitudinally extending, oppositely inclined surfaces that intersect and pass through a center plane of the packing sheet so as to define hills and valleys on opposite sides of the center plane. The inclined surfaces have an amplitude relative to the center plane of the packing sheet that is opposite that of the adjacent inclined surfaces of an adjacent corrugation. The packing sheets are arranged adjacent each other such that the corrugations of adjacent packing sheets are oppositely oriented.
The adjacent packing sheets are secured together at the contact points wherein the hills of one of the packing sheets contacts the valleys of an immediately adjacent packing sheet. Each of the corrugations has a plurality of equally spaced-apart hills and valleys having a contact point associated therewith, such that each of the corrugations has a contact point located in one of a plurality of spaced-apart horizontal planes. In so doing, numerous horizontal rows of concentrated contact points are present that tend to restrict airflow and results in increased pressure drop through the pack.
The present invention is specifically directed to an improvement to the gas/liquid contact apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,670,197. The improvement is accomplished by changing the shape of the inclined surfaces so that certain of the hills and valleys occur at different locations in adjacent corrugations. In so doing, the contact points are dispersed over a wider area of the surfaces, reducing restrictions to airflow and increasing the resistance of the pack to buckling under compressive loads.